Brazilian Jungle to Beach!

(Jan 14, 2013)

I loved Manaus, I loved Belem,  I loved Sao Luis and I haven’t had enough time in any of them! Brazil has so far exceeded all of my expectations, which were that it would be ridiculously expensive, that the couchsurfing scene would be predominated by single male 'opportunists', and that the main attraction would be beach lounging. Not so!

As I mentioned briefly at the end of my last post, Manaus proved itself to be a beautiful city with lush jungle pushing through its urban boundaries and wild and wonderful (and delicious) food carts lining the streets. Kellen, my host, is an extremely kind girl who opened up her house to me and toured with me around the city. While in Manaus I tried new fruits (breadfruit juice, which tastes like pina colada, and a pink furry fruit that tasted like leiche), a range of types of meat and cheese-filled deep fried delicacies, a range of tapioca products, and Acai. In all of the three cities that I have visited, tapioca products have emerged as a versatile and popular staple. I learned that Tapioca is made from the ‘yucca’ root (commonly steamed or fried and eaten in other South American countries like a potato) and, in Brazil, it is dried into tapioca flour and used in cakes, crepes, as a crunchy topping for everything, as sugared balls in Acai drinks, in candies, fried and puffed like pork rinds, and sprinkled in ice cream. Acai (A-psy-ee), the trendy power supplement at juice chains in Canada, comes from an Amazonian berry (resembling a blueberry) and is made into a thick bitter drink or dipping sauce for fish and meat. I just love learning about new foods and Brazil is king – I’m in heaven!

From Manaus I flew to the city of Belem, on Brazil’s northern coast. Just like Manaus, the city appeared to be ever encroached upon by the outlying jungle and the streets were lined with towering lush green mango trees. My host Victor was wonderful and met me at the airportto drive me back to his apartment. That afternoon we had a delicious lunch of fish and Acai (in the Brazilian way) and then wandered through the beautiful Portuguese colonial buildings that make up the downtown. Portuguese architecture, I have learned, is different from Spanish colonial architecture in that the Portuguese built simpler building forms, decorated with brightly coloured tiles in yellows, whites, blues, and greens. That evening I had the chance to try Tacaca, a traditional jungle soup that was quite sour, with tongue-numbing Jambo leaves and dried shrimp floating in it. It was interesting. The Guarana (commonly used as a stimulant in american energy drinks) that I had for dessert, on the other hand, was DELICIOUS. Here they mix the Guarana powder with chopped nuts, milk, cinnamon, avocado, papaya, banana and ice to make the most delicious thick and nutty milkshake that will keep you going for hours!

The following afternoon I visited a beautiful city park that was more like a zoo than anything, with jaguars, caimans, monkeys, and birds enclosed throughout the park. That evening I tried another traditional jungle dish, Manicoba, that resembled a chopped spinach stew mixed with dried meat, and served over rice. I enjoyed it much more than Tacaca and followed it up with a visit to a local ice cream parlor where an employee let me taste the gamut of exotic local fruits, before helping me settle on Mangaba, which (of course) was just delicious.

I said goodbye to Victor and headed off to Sao Luis, further South along the coast. Less jungle filled and more wind swept, Sao Luis is a beautiful colonial town that I just didn’t have enough time in! I spent most of my first day visiting the nearby town of Alcantara, an old commercial centre in decline since the sugar and cotton boom days. That evening, as I was waiting to meet up with my host, Thiago, to visit the city, I heard vocal harmonies floating out of one of the colonial windows above me. I was so mesmerized by the sound and filled with joy at the memories of my time singing in choirs with Madeleine Humer, that I stood transfixed and gazing upwards. One of the choir members came to the balconette to get some air, saw me, and motioned for me to come up. When the director saw me peering over one of the choir members shoulders at the music they were singing from, he invited me to sing along! It was such an amazing moment– to be singing chamber music, arranged by a Brazilian composer, with a spontaneous group of new friends!

I left the group elated and wandered into the central plaza of Sao Luis’ colonial centre. Darkness was beginning to fall and the warm glow of the street lamps cast dramatic shadows up the sides of the beautiful buildings and along the cobble stone streets. People were milling about, eating street food and drinking beer from the small beer carts stationed around the square, and a band was setting up to play in front of one of the bars. I sauntered over to one of the food stands and ordered a ‘Beiju de Camarao’, which turned out to be a tapioca pancake filled with the most delicious shrimp curry. After I had finished, I stood by, all smiles, as the jolly stall owner and chef showed me how to make the pancake so that I could try to reproduce it at home. I then wandered over and made friends with one of the beer stall owners and walked of the night with about 15 new friends than I had when I started.

After a breezy and relaxing day at a beach near my couchsurfing host’s house, I headed to the bus terminal and am now en route to the beach town of Jericoacoara. I’ll get started on my internship hunt there, work on organizing some tours in Argentina, and plan the next steps of my Brazilian adventure while I am there. Maybe I’ll fit in a few moments of kite surfing at the beach!